Mission Statement

The Forest Roberts Theatre plays a vital role in the cultural life of the Upper Peninsula through:

creating theatrical productions of the highest standard which explore and illuminate the human condition;

providing artistic training and experience for a diverse group of university theatre students;

providing educational programs for our audiences;

providing the community with the resources and consulting skills of the theatre faculty;

providing the opportunity for the Marquette community to participate in theatrical productions.

Guiding Principles

We believe theatre, at its best, illuminates the human condition.

The Forest Roberts Theatre prides itself on its national reputation as an outstanding undergraduate theatre program. As such, our productions are staged as creatively and boldly as resources permit and under no circumstances will we compromise the present level of artistic standards. Instead, every effort will be to enhance quality.

We create plays, not simply produce them, and place a high value on originality and innovation.

The theatre is an art that is most effective when it asks provocative and essential questions about the human condition rather than attempting to provide specific solutions or answers. With this in mind, our work is not bias toward any particular political, theological or aesthetic point of view.

Classical works that allow all of us to re-examine our cultural, moral, and aesthetic heritage are an essential component of our work. We believe that realizing the true power of these works requires continual creative and scholarly re-examination, led by the artistry of forward-thinking directors working with innovative designers.

The future of the American theatre depends largely upon the development of the American playwright and we encourage the creation of new works through our annual playwriting award competition.

The Forest Roberts Theatre faculty actively keeps abreast of new work produced within the non-profit and commercial theatre and we mount productions of the most entertaining and provocative new plays.

We are committed first and foremost to our students, the young men and women evolving into true theatre artists. As such, we select plays that give our student-artists the opportunity to work with the kind of material they will encounter should they embark upon a professional theatre career. We endeavor to present as wide a range of theatre style, periods and genres as possible at Northern Michigan University.